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BALD WI N'S BIOGRAPHICAL BOOKLETS 

THE STORY 

OF 

PAUL JONES 

FOR YOUNG READERS 



By Mabel Borton Beebe 

11 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JAMES BALDWIN 




WERNER SCHOOL BOOK COMPANY 
NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON 



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Baliwln's Biogranliical EooMet Series, 

Biographical Stories of Great Americans 
for Young Americans 

EDITED BY 

James Baldwin, Ph.D. 

IN these biographical stories the lives of great Americans are 
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youngest reader. In lives like these the child finds ihe most 
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INTRODUCTION. 




SEAL OF THE 
U. S. NAVY. 



Four times in the history of our country has the American 
navy achieved renown and won the gratitude of the nation. 
These four times correspond, of course, to the four great 
wars that we have had ; and with the 
mention of each the name of a famous 
hero of the sea is at once brought to 
mind. What would the Revolution 
have been without its Paul Jones; or 
the War of 1812, without its Perry? 
How differently might the Civil War 
have ended but for its Farragut ; and 
the Spanish War, but for its Dewey! The story of the 
achievements of these four men covers a large part of our 
naval history. 

Six months after the battle of Lexington the Continental 
Congress decided to raise and equip a fleet to help carry on 
the war against England. Before the end of the year (1T75) 
seventeen vessels were ready for service, and it was then 
that Paul Jones began his public career. Many other 
ships were soon added. 

The building and equipping of this first navy was largely 
intrusted to Ezek Hopkins, whom Congress had appointed 
Commander-in-Chief, but it does not seem that he did all 



INTRODUCTION. 




that was expected of him, for within less than two years 

he was dismissed. He was the 
only person who ever held 
the title of Commander-in-Chief 
of the navy. During the war 
several other vessels were added 
to the fleet, and over 800 prizes 
were captured from the Brit- 
ish. But before peace was de- 
clared twenty-four of our ships 
had been taken by the enemy, 
others had been wrecked in 
storms, and nearly all the rest 
were disabled. There was no 

effort to build other vessels, and so, for m£ ny years, our 

country had no navy. 

In 1794, when war ^^,^/^=€L. 

with the Barbary States ^^ fy^ 

was expected, Congress 

ordered the building of 

six large frigates. One 

of these was the famous 

Co7istitutio7i, which is 

still in existence and 

about which Dr. Holmes 

wrote the well-known poem called -'Old Ironsides. 



EZEK HOPKINS. 




THE FRIGATE CONSTITUTION. 



INTRODUCTIGX. 



Through all the earlier years of our history, John Adams 
used his influence to strengthen our power on the sea ; 
and he was so far successful that he has often been called 
"The Father of the American Navy." When the War 
of 1812 began the United States owned a great many 
gunboats for coast defense, besides seventeen sea-going 
vessels. It was during 
this war that the navy 
especially distinguished 
itself, and Oliver Haz- 
ard Perry made his name 
famous. 

The ships of war in 
those earlier times were 
wooden sailing vessels, 
and they were very slow- 
goers when compared 

with the swift cruisers which sail the ocean now^ The 
largest of these vessels were called ships of the line, be- 
cause they formed the line of battle in any general fight at 
sea. They usually had three decks, with guns on every 
deck. The upper deck was often covered over, and on the 
open deck thus formed above there was a fourth tier of guns. 
This open deck was called the forecastle and quarter-deck. 
Some of the largest ships of the line carried as many as 
120 guns each ; the smallest was built to carry 72 guns. 




A SLOOP OF WAR. 



INTRO D UCTION. 



Next in size to these ships were the frigates. A frigate 
had only one covered deck and the open forecastle and 
quarter-deck above it, and therefore had but two tiers of 
guns. The largest frigate carried sixty guns, besides a 
large pivot gun at the bow. The American frigates were 
noted for their speed. 

Still smaller than the frigates were the corvettes, or 
sloops of war, as they are more commonly called. These 

had but one tier of 
guns, and that was 
on the open deck. 
They were rigged like 
the larger vessels, 
with three masts and 
square sails. 

The fourth class of 
vessels included the 
brigs of war, which 
had but two masts and carried from six to twenty 
guns. Equal to them in size were the schooners, which 
also had two masts, but were rigged fore-and-aft. The 
guns which they carried were commonly much smaller than 
those on the sloops and frigates. 

After Robert Fulton's invention of the steamboat in 1807 
there were many attempts to apply steam on vessels of 
war. But it was a long time before these attempts were 




THE STEAM FRIGATE POWHATAN. 



INTROD UCTION. 



very successful. The earliest war steamships were driven 
by paddle-wheels, placed at the sides of the vessels. The 
paddles, besides taking up much valuable space, v/ere ex- 
posed to the shots of the enemy, and in any battle v/ere 
very easily crippled and made useless. But the speed of 
these vessels was much greater than that of any sailing 
ship, and this alone made them very desirable. For many 




THE MERRIMAC AND THE MONITOR. 



years steam frigates were the most formidable vessels in 
the navy. The first successful steamship of war was the 
English frigate Penelope, which was built in 1843, and car- 
ried forty-six guns. One of the earliest and most noted 
American vessels of the same type was the Powhatan. The 
first screw line of battle ship was built by the French in 1 849. 
It was called the Napoleon, and carried one hundred guns. 
It was so successful that steamships soon began to take the 
place of sailing vessels in all the navies of the world. 
Up to this time all war vessels were built of wood ; but 



INTRODUCTION. 



there had been many experiments to learn whether they 
might not be protected by iron plating. The first iron-clad 
ship was built in France in 1858 ; and not long after that 
Great Britain added to her navy an entire fleet of iron-clads. 
All these were built after the same pattern as wooden ships, 
and were simply covered or protected with iron plates. 

The first iron-clads used in our own navy were built soon 
after the beginning of the Civil War (1861), and were de- 
signed for use on the large rivers and along the coast. 

They were called "tur- 
tle-backs," and were 
simply large steamboats 
covered with thick slabs 
of iron and carrying 
thirteen guns each. The 
iron slabs were joined 
closely together and laid in such a manner as to inclose the 
decks with sloping sides and roofs. The first great deviation 
from old patterns was the Mo7tito7', built by John Ericsson 
in 1862. She was the strangest looking craft that had ever 
been seen, and has been likened to a big washtub turned 
upside down and floating on the water. The Merrimac, 
which she defeated in Hampton Roads, was a wooden frig- 
ate which the Confederates had made into an iron-clad 
by covering her v/ith railroad rails. They had also, by 
giving her an iron prow, converted her into a ram. These 




THE BATTLESHIP OREGON. 



IN TR on UC TION. 



two vessels, the Ilfo?ntor and the Merriniac, were indirectly 
the cause of a great revolution in naval warfare ; they were 
the forerunners of all the modern ships of war now in ex- 
istence. The nations of the world saw at once that there 
would be no more use for ships of the line and wooden 
frigates and sloops of war. 

The ships that have been built since that time are entirely 
unlike those with which Paul Jones and Commodore Perry 
and Admiral Farragut 




THE DYNAMITE CRUISER VESUVIUS. 



won their great victo- 
ries. The largest and 
most formidable of the 
new vessels are known 
as battleships, and may 
be briefly described as 
floating forts, built of 
steel and armed with powerful guns. These are named 
after the states, as the Oregon, the Texas, and the 
Iowa. Next to them in importance are the great monitors, 
such as the Monadnock and the Monterey. These are 
slow sailers but terrible fighters, and are intended chiefly 
for harbor defense. The cruisers, which rank next, are 
smaller than battleships and are not so heavily armed ; 
but they are built for speed, and their swiftness makes up 
for their lack of strength. Among the most noted of these 
are the Brooklyn, the Columbia, and the Mmneapolis. There 



lO INTRODUCTION. 



are also smaller cruisers, such as the Cincinnati and the 
Raleigh, that are intended rather for scout duty than for serv- 
ice in battle. Most of the cruisers are named after cities. 
One of the strangest vessels in the navy is the dynamite 
cruiser Vesuvius, which is armed with terrible dynamite 
guns. Then there is the ram Kaiahdin. She carries no heavy 
guns, and her only weapon of offense is a powerful ram. 
Her speed is greater than that of most battleships, and she 
is protected by a covering of the heaviest steel armor. 
Besides all these there are a number of smaller vessels, 
such as torpedo boats and tugs. 

A few old-fashioned wooden vessels — steam frigates and 
sailing vessels — are still to be found in our navy yards, but 
these would be of no use in a battle. 

In reading of the exploits of our great naval heroes it is 
well to keep in mind these wonderful changes that have 
taken place in the navy. Think of the slow-going wooden 
frigates which sailed the seas in the time of Paul Jones or 
Commodore Perry — how small and insignificant they would 
be if placed side by side with the tremendous Oregon or 
with the cruisers which Admiral Dewey led to victory in 
the Bay of Manila! But if the glory of an achievement is 
measured by the difficulties that are encountered and 
overcome, to whom shall we award the greater honor — to 
our earlier heroes, or to our later? James Baldwin. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Little Scotch Lad . . . .13 

IL The Young Sailor ..... 16 

IIL The Beginning OF the American Revolution 19 

IV. Lieutenant Paul Jones .... 22 

V. The Cruise of the Alfred . . . -25 

VL Captain Paul Jones ..... 28 

VIL The Cruise of the Ranger . . . .31 

VIIL The Ranger and the Drake • • • 37 

IX. The Bon Homme Richard . . . .41 

X. The Great Fight with the Serapis . . 45 

XI. Honor to the Hero . . . . -53 

XII. The Return to America .... 57 

XIII. Ambitious Hopes ...... 59 

XIV. Sad Disappointments . c , 62 




A ' ^^< 




THE STORY OF PAUL JONES. 



I. — The Little Scotch Lad. 

Many years ago there lived, in the southwestern 
part of Scotland, on the beautiful bay called 
Solway Firth, a gentleman whose name was Mr. 
Craik. In Scotland, a large farm is called an 
estate. Mr. Craik named his estate Arbigland. 

His large house stood high on the shore over- 
looking the sea. The lawn sloped gradually to 
the firth. 

Mr. Craik's gardener, John Paul, lived in a 
cottage on the estate. Mr. Craik was very fond 
of John Paul, for he worked well. He made the 
grounds like a beautiful park, and planted many 
trees, some of which are still standing. 

One day John Paul married Jean Macduff. 

She was the daughter of a neighboring farmer. 

She and John lived very happily in their little 

13 



J . THE STORY OF PAUL JONES. 



cottage. They had seven children. The fifth 
child was a boy, named for his father, John Paul. 
He was born July 6, 1747. 

When little John was large enough to run about 
he liked to play on the beautiful lawn and to 
wander along the shore of the firth. Sometimes 
he would sit still for hours watching the waves. 

Sometimes he and Mr. Craik's little boy would 
play with tiny sailboats and paddle about in the 
water. When they grew tired of this, they would 
climb among the rocks on the mountains which 
were back of the estate. 

When there were storms at sea, vessels would 
come into Solway Firth for a safe harbor. The 
water was very deep near the shore. Because of 
this the ships could come so near the lawn of 
Arbigland that their masts seemed to touch the 
overhanging trees. 

Little John Paul and his playmates liked to 
watch the sailors, and sometimes could even talk 
to them. They heard many wonderful stories of 
a land called America, where grew the tobacco 
that was packed in some of the ships. 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. j r 



The children would often take their little sail- 
boats to some inlet, where they would play sailor. 
John Paul was always the captain. He had list- 
ened carefully to the commands given by the 
captains of the large vessels. These he would 
repeat correctly and with great dignity, though he 
did not always understand them. 

John Paul spent m.ore time in this kind of play 
than in going to school. In those days there were 
few schools, and book-learnino: was not thought to 
be of much use. At a parish school near by, John 
learned to spell and to repeat the rules of gram- 
mar. 

When he was twelve years old he felt that the 
time had come when he could be a real sailor. So 
his father allowed him to go across the firth to an 
English town called Whitehaven. There he was 
apprenticed to Mr. Younger, a merchant, who 
owned a ship and traded in goods brought from 
foreign lands. 

He soon went to sea in Mr. Younger's vessel, 
the Friendship. This ship was bound for Amer- 
ica to get tobacco from the Virginia fields. 



J ^ THE STOR V OF PA VL JONES. 

II. — The Young Sailor. 

At that time the trip across the Atlantic could 
not be made as quickly as now. There were no 
steamships, and the sailing vessels had, of course, 
to depend upon the wind to carry them to their 
destination. It was several months before the 
Friendship anchored at the mouth of the Rappa- 
hannock River. 

Farther inland, on this river, was the town of 
Fredericksburg. John Paul's eldest brother, Wil- 
liam, lived there. He had left his Scottish home 
many years before, and had come with his wife to 
Virginia. Here he was now living on his own 
plantation, where he raised tobacco for the English 
market. 

While the FriejidsJiip was in port being loaded 
for its return voyage, John Paul went to Freder- 
icksburg to stay with his brother. While there 
he spent the most of his time in hard study. 
Although he was still young, he had found that 
he could not succeed as he wished with so little 
education. 

It was during these months in America that he 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. j « 

formed the habit of study. All through the 
remainder of his life his leisure time was given to 
the reading of books. 

After he returned to Scotland he spent six years 
in the employ of Mr. Younger. During that time 
he learned a great deal about good seamanship. 

When John Paul was nineteen years of age, the 
loss of money compelled Mr. Younger to give up 
his business. 

John Paul was soon afterward made mate on a 
slaver called the Tivo Friends. This was a vessel 
whose sole business was the carrying of slaves 
from Africa to America and other countries. 

People at that time did not think there was any 
wrong in slave-trading. It was a very profitable 
business. Even the sailors made more money 
than did those on vessels engaged in any other 
business. 

The Tivo Friends carried a cargo of slaves to 
Jamaica, an English possession in the West Indies. 
As soon as port was reached, John Paul left the 
vessel. He said that he would never again sail on 
a slave-trading voyage. He could not endure to 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



see men and women treated so cruelly, and bought 
and sold like cattle. 

He sailed for home as a passenger on board 
a small trading vessel. On the voyage both the 
captain and the mate died of fever, and the ship 
with all its passengers was in mid-ocean with no 
one to command. 

John Paul took the captain's place, for no one 
else knew so much about seamanship. This was 
a daring thing for one so young, as he was not yet 
twenty years old. 

When he brought the vessel safely into port, 
the owners were so grateful to him that they made 
him the captain. 

Soon afterward he sailed for the West Indies. 
The carpenter on board was, one day, very dis- 
respectful to the young captain. He was pun- 
ished by a flogging, and was discharged. Not 
long after this he died of a fever. 

The enemies of John Paul, who were jealous 
of him, thought this was their chance to do him 
harm. They said that the flogging had killed 
the carpenter. 



THE STOR Y OF PAL 'L JONES. 



Many people believed this, and when John 
Paul again returned to Scotland, he found that 
his friends had lost their faith in him. 

During the next two years he made several 
voyages, but all the while he remembered the in- 
justice done to him. He finally succeeded, how- 
ever, in proving to his friends that he was worthy 
of their confidence. 



III. — The Beginning of the American Revo- 
lution. 

When John Paul visited his brother in Virginia, 
America was not much like what it is now. Most 
of the country was an unexplored wilderness, and 
there was no United States as we know it to-day. 

Some large settlements, known as colonies, had 
been made in that part of the country which lies 
between the Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghany 
Mountains. 

Most of the people who lived in these colonies 
were English, and their governors were appointed 
by the king of England. 



2Q THE STORY OF PA I'L JONES. 



Each governor, with the help of a few men 
whom he chose from the people, would make 
laws for the colony. 

Not all the laws were made in this way. Some- 
times the king, without caring for the wishes of 
the colonists, would make laws to suit himself. 

Up to this time the people had been obedient 
and loyal to their king. But when George the 
Third came to the throne of England, he caused 
the people a great deal of trouble. 

He sent orders to the governors that the col- 
onists should trade with no other country than 
his own. 

All their goods should be bought in England, 
and, to pay for them, they must send to the 
same country all the corn, cotton, and tobacco 
which they had to sell. The colonists wished to 
build factories and weave their own cloth, but the 
king would not allow this. 

For a long while England had been at war 
with France. King George said that the colonists 
should help pay the expenses of that war, and 
therefore he began to tax them heavily. 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. ^ \ 



They were obliged to pay a tax on every pound 
of tea, and stamped paper must be bought for 
every legal document. 

The colonists were much aroused on account 
of the tea tax and the stamp act, as it was called. 

One day startling news came to John Paul in 
Virginia. A shipload of tea had anchored in 
Boston harbor. The colonists declared that they 
would not pay the tax on this tea, and some of 
them, dressed as Indians, had gone on board the 
vessel and thrown it all into the harbor. 

Later on, came the news that 'the king had sent 
his English soldiers to Boston to keep the people 
quiet. He had also closed the port of Boston 
and said that no more ships should come in or 
go out. This aroused the whole country. Every- 
body felt that something must be done to preserve 
the freedom of the people. 

Each colony chose men as delegates to confer 
together about what was best to be done. The 
delegates met in Philadelphia on the 5th of Sep- 
tember, 1774. That meeting has since been 
called the First Continental Congress of America. 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



The delegates of the colonies decided to send a 
petition to the king asking that he would remove 
the taxes and not make unjust laws. 

All winter the people waited for an answer, but 
as none came, matters grew worse in the spring. 

On the 19th of April, 1775, a battle was fought 
with the king's soldiers at Lexington, in Massachu- 
setts. This was the first battle of the American 
Revolution. 



IV. — Paul Jones. 

In the year 1773, soon after the trouble with 
England had begun, John Paul's brother William 
died in Virginia. He left some money and his 
plantation, but had made no will to say who should 
have them. He had no children, and his wife had 
been dead for years. 

His father had died the year before, and John 
was the only one of the family now living who 
could manage the estate. 

So he left the sea and went to live on the farm 
near Fredericksburg:, in Virginia. He thouo^ht that 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. ^ ^ 



he would spend the rest of his hfe in the quiet 
country, and never return to the sea. 

He soon learned to love America very dearly, 
even more than he did his own country. He 
wanted to see the colonists win in their struggle for 
their rights. 

But so good a sailor could not be a good farmer. 
In two years the farm was in a bad condition and 
all the money left by his brother had been spent. 
The agents in Scotland, with whom John Paul 
had left money for the care of his mother and sis- 
ters, had proved to be dishonest, and this money 
also had been lost. 

In the midst of these perplexities, he decided to 
serve America in the war which every one saw was 
now inevitable. 

Another congress of delegates from the colonies 
met in 1775, and made preparations for that war. 
The colonists were organized into an army, with 
George Washington as the commander in chief. 

A fleet of English vessels had been sent across 
the Atlantic. The swiftest of these sailed up and 
down the Atlantic coast, forcing the people in the 



24 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



towns to give provisions to the king's sailors and 
soldiers. Other vessels were constantly coming 
over, loaded with arms and ammunition for the 
English soldiers. 

George Washington's army was almost without 
ammunition. There was 
very little gunpowder made 
in this country at that 
time, and the need of it 
was very great. 

It was thought that the 
best way to supply the 
American army with am- 
munition was to capture 
the English vessels. It was 
for this purpose that the first American navy was 
organized. 

The first navy yard was established at Plym- 
outh. Here a few schooners and merchant ves- 
sels were equipped with cannon as warships. 
These were manned by bold, brave men, who, 
since boyhood, had been on the sea in fishing or 
trading vessels. 




THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. ^ C 



No member of the Continental Congress did 
more to strengthen and enlarge this first navy than 
John Adams. 

In 1775 John Paul settled up his affairs, left the 
Virginia farm, and went to Philadelphia to offer his 
services to the naval committee of Congress. 

He gave his name as John Paul Jones. Just 
why he did this, we do not know. Perhaps he did 
not wish his friends in Scotland to know that he 
had taken up arms against his native country. 

Perhaps he thought that, should he ever be 
captured by the English, it would go harder with 
him if they should know his English name. We 
cannot tell. Hereafter we shall call him Paul 
Jones, as this is the name by which he was known 
during the rest of his life. 

Congress accepted his offer and he was made 
first lieutenant on the Alfred, a flag-ship. 



V. — The Cruise of the Alfred. 
The young lieutenant was now twenty-nine 
years old. His health was excellent and he could 



26 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 




endure great fatigue. His figure was light, grace- 
ful, and active. His face was stern and his man- 
ner was soldierly. He was a fine seaman and 
familiar with armed vessels. 

He knew that the men placed above him in 
the navy had had less experience than he. But 
he took the position given him 
without complaint. 

When the commander of the 
Alfi'cd came on board, Paul Jones 
hoisted the American flag. This 
was the first time a flag of our 
own had ever been raised. 
We do not know just what this flag was like, 
but some of the earliest naval flags bore the 
picture of a pine tree; others had a rattlesnake 
stretched across the stripes, and the words, "Don't 
tread on me." Our present flag was not adopted 
until two years later. 

On the 17th of February, 1776, the first Ameri- 
can squadron sailed for the Bahama Islands. 

On the way, two British sloops were captured. 
The English sailors told the Americans that on the 



THE PINE TREE FLAG. 



THE STOR y OF PA UL JONES. ^ ^ 



island of New Providence were forts, which con- 
tained a large amount of military supplies. They 
said that these forts could easily be taken. 

The soldiers on a vessel are called marines. 
A plan was made to hide the American marines 
in the British sloops. In that way it was thought 
they could go safely into the harbor of New 
Providence. Then they could land 
and take possession of the forts. 

This plan would have been 
successful, but for one foolish mis- 
take. The squadron sailed so 
close to the harbor during the ^he rattlesnake 




i:5 



FLAG. 



night that in the morning all the 
ships could be seen from the shore. The war ves- 
sels should have remained out of sight until the 
marines had been safely landed from the sloops. 
The alarm was spread, and the sloops were not 
allowed to cross the bar. 

The commander of the squadron then planned 
to land on the opposite side of the island and 
take the forts from the rear, but Paul Jones 
told him he could not do this. There was no 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



place to anchor the squadron, and no road to the 
forts. 

However, he had learned from the pilots of a 
good landing nor far from the harbor. When he 
told the commander of this, he was only rebuked 
for confiding in pilots. 

So Paul Jones undertook, alone, to conduct the 
Alfred to the landing he had found. He suc- 
ceeded in doing this and the whole squadron 
afterwards followed. 

The English soldiers abandoned the forts, and 
the squadron sailed away the same day, carrying 
a hundred cannon and other military stores. 



VI. — Captain Paul Jones. 

A short time after this, the American squadron 
tried to capture a British ship called the Glasgow. 
The attempt was not successful. 

Because of this failure, one of the captains was 
dismissed from the navy, and the command of his 
vessel was given to Lieutenant Jones. This vessel 
was named the Prozddencc. 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. ry q 



With it and the Alfred, which he also com- 
manded, Captain Jones captured sixteen prizes in 
six weeks. Among them were cargoes of coal and 
dry goods. 

Best of all, he captured an English vessel bound 
for Canada, full of warm clothing for the British 
soldiers. This was a prize that proved of great 
value to General Washington's poorly clothed 
army. 

In those days there were selfish people just as 
now. In January, 1777, a jealous commodore 
succeeded in depriving Paul Jones of his position 
as captain. He was now without ship or rank. 
When he appealed to Congress he was put off with 
promises from time to time. It was not until May 
that his petitions were heard. 

There were three new ships being built for the 
navy at Boston. Congress gave him permission 
to choose one of these and have it fitted out as he 
wished. 

While waiting in Boston for these ships to be 
finished, Paul Jones wrote many wise suggestions 
about the management of the navy. Congress at 



30 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



first paid but little attention to these suggestions, 
but was afterwards glad to act upon them. 
These were some of the things he said: 
"I. Every officer should be examined before 
he receives his commission. 

*' 2. The ranks in a navy 
should correspond to those 
in an army. 

'* 3. As England has the 
best navy in the world, we 
should copy hers." 

Before the ship he had 
chosen was completed, he 
was ordered to wait no 
longer in Boston, but to 
take the Ranger, an old 
vessel, and sail at once for France. Through the 
efforts of Benjamin Franklin, the American Min- 
ister to France, the French king had acknowledged 
the independence of the colonies, and was ready 
to aid the Americans in the war. 

Paul Jones was to carry a letter from Congress 
to the American commissioners in Paris. 




BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JOXES. ^ j 



This letter told the commissioners to buy a new 
fast-sailing frigate for Captain Jones, and to have 
it fitted up as he desired. They were then to 
advise him as to what he should do with it. 



VII. — The Cruise of the Ranger. 

When the Rano-er sailed out of Boston harbor, 
the stars and stripes of the American republic 
waved from the mast head. 

Paul Jones was the first naval officer to raise 
this flag. You remember that two years before, 
on the Alfred, he had first hoisted the pine tree 
emblem. 

When he reached Quiberon Bay, in France, the 
admiral of the French fleet there saluted the 
American flag. This was the first time that a for- 
eign country had recognized America as an inde- 
pendent nation. 

Paul Jones anchored the Ranger at Brest and 
went to Paris to deliver his letter, and lay his plans 
before the commissioners. He told them two 
important things: 



* 2 THE S TOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



First, that our navy was too small to win in 
open battle with the fleets of the English. 

Second, that the way to keep the English ves- 
sels from burning, destroying, and carrying away 
property on the American coasts, was to send 
vessels to the English coasts to annoy the English 
in the same way. 

The commissioners thought that these plans 
should be carried out at once; and since a new 
frigate could not be purchased for some time, they 
refitted the Rano-er for his use. 

On April lo, 1778, Paul Jones set out on what 
proved to be a memorable cruise. 

You remember that when he first went to sea, 
as a boy, he sailed from Whitehaven. This town 
is on the English coast, just across the Solway 
Firth from John Paul's old home. 

He knew there were large shipping yards there, 
and he determined to set fire to them. He 
planned to reach the harbor in the night, and burn 
the ships while the people were asleep. 

Because of the wind and tides, it was nearly 
midnight when he arrived. He found three 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. ^ ^ 



hundred vessels of different kinds lying in the 
harbor. His men were put into two small boats, 
and each boat was ordered to set fire to half the 
ships. 

It was nearly daylight when they rowed away 
from the Ranger. Nothing could be heard but the 
splashing of their oars. Their flickering torches 
showed to them the old sleeping town, with the 
many white ships along the shore. 

Leaving orders that the fire be speedily kindled, 
Captain Jones took with him a few men, and scaled 
the walls of the batteries which protected the 
harbor. He locked the sleeping sentinels in the 
guardhouse and spiked the cannon. 

Then, sending his men back to the harbor, he 
went, with one man only, to another fort, which 
was a quarter of a mile away. Here he also 
spiked the guns. 

After all this had been done he returned to his 
boats to find that his sailors had done nothing. 
Not one ship was on fire! 

The lieutenant in charge told Paul Jones that 
their torches had gone out. '^ Any way, " he said, 



^ . THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



"nothing can be gained by burning poor people's 
property. " 

Determined that they should not leave the har- 
bor until something was destroyed, Paul Jones ran 
to a neighboring house and got a light. With this 
he set fire to the largest ship. 

By this time the people had been aroused, and 
hundreds were running to the shore. 

There was no time to do more. The sailors 
hastened back to the Ranger, taking with them 
three prisoners, whom Paul Jones said he would 
show as ''samples." 

The soldiers tried to shoot the sailors from the 
forts; but they could do nothing with the spiked 
guns. The sailors amused themselves by firing 
back pistol shots. 

On reaching the ship they found that a man was 
missing. Paul Jones was afraid that harm had 
befallen him. He need not have been troubled, 
however, for the man was a deserter. He spread 
the alarm for miles along the shore. The people 
afterward called him the ' ' Savior of Whitehaven. " 

Paul Jones was greatly disappointed by the fail- 



the stor v of pa ul jones. ^ - 

j5 



ure of his plans. He knew that if he had reached 
the harbor a few hours earher he could have 
burned, not only all the ships, but the entire town. 

Although the plan to destroy English property 
to aid the American cause, was a wise one, from 
a military point of view, yet we cannot understand 
why Paul Jones should have selected Whitehaven 
for this destruction. There he had received kind- 
ness and employment when a boy. His mother 
and sisters lived just across the bay, and had he 
succeeded in burning Whitehaven, the people, in 
their anger, might have injured the family of the 
man who had so cruelly harmed them. We won- 
der if he thought of these things. 

The Earl of Selkirk lived near Whitehaven, on 
St. Mary's Isle. As the Ranger sailed by this 
island, Paul Jones thought it would be well to take 
the earl prisoner. 

There were many Americans held as prisoners, 
by the English, and the earl could be exchanged 
for some of these. 

So, with a few men, Paul Jones rowed to the 
shore, where some fishermen told him that the earl 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



was away from home. Paul Jones started to go 
back to his vessel. But his sailors were disap- 
pointed and asked his permission to go to the 
earl's house and take away the silver. 

Paul Jones did not like this plan, but at last con- 
sented. He did not go 
with the men, how- 
ever, but walked up 
and down the shore 
until they returned. 

The sailors found 
Lady Selkirk and her 
family at breakfast. 
They took all the sil- 
ver from the table, 
put it into a bag, and 
returned to the ship. 
Paul Jones was al- 
ways troubled about this. He afterwards bought 
the silver for a large sum of money, and sent it 
back to Lady Selkirk with a letter of apology. 

The people in the neighborhood were frightened 
when they heard of the earl's silver being taken. 




MAP OF THE IRISH SEA, SHOWING 
THE CRUISE OF THE RANGER. 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. ^ ^ 



They ran here and there, hiding their valuables. 
Some of them dragged a cannon to the shore, 
and spent a night firing at what they supposed 
in the darkness to be Paul Jones' vessel. In the 
morning they found they had wasted all their 
powder on a rock! 

The next day the alarm was carried to all the 
towns along the shore: "Beware of Paul Jones, the 
pirate!" 



VIII. — The Ranger and the Drake. 

An English naval vessel called the Drake was 
sent out to capture the Ranger, Every one felt 
sure that she would be successful, and five boat- 
loads of men went out with her to see the fight. 

When the Drake came alongside of the Ranger, 
she hailed and asked what ship it was. Paul Jones 
replied: "The American Continental ship Ranger! 
Come on! We are waiting for you!" 

After a battle of one hour, the Drake surren- 
dered. The captain and forty-two men had been 
killed, and the vessel was badly injured. Paul 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



Jones lost only his lieutenant and one seaman. 
Six others were wounded, one of whom died. 

This was a great victory for Paul Jones. The 
Dj'ake not only mounted two more guns than the 



'^^^-r 




Rangei'y but was manned by a crew that was much 
better drilled. The vessel belonged to the well- 
established English navy, which was accustomed 
to victory on the seas. 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



Towing the Drake, Paul Jones sailed northward 
in safety. Then, leaving the Irish Sea, he sailed 
around the north coast of Ireland and returned to 
the harbor at Brest, with the Drake and two hun- 
dred prisoners. This was just a month from the 
day he had set out on his cruise. 

The French government had now concluded an 
alliance with the American republic. War had 
been openly declared between France and Eng- 
land, and all the French people rejoiced over the 
victory of the Ranger. 

Paul Jones was not sorry when Congress sent 
him an order to bring his vessel to America. It 
was needed to protect the coasts of New Jersey 
from the war ships of the British. 

The French king did not like brave Paul Jones to 
return to America. He wished him to remain 
where he could be of more direct service to 
France. He therefore caused letters to be sent to 
him, promising that if he would stay on that side 
of the Atlantic he should have command of the new 
frigate he had wished for so long. 

Pleased with the prospect of this, he gave up 



. THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 

4U 



the command of the Ranger, and it sailed to 
America under a new captain. 

But promises are often more easily made than 
kept. The French navy was well supplied with 
ships and officers. These officers were jealous 
of the success of Paul Jones, and did all they 
could to prevent him from obtaining his commis- 
sion. 

The summer and most of the winter of 1778 
passed away, and Paul Jones was still waiting for 
his ship. He began to wish he had gone to 
America. 

Some wealthy men offered him a ship if he 
would take charge of a trading expedition for them. 
To do this, he must give up his commission in the 
American navy, and so Paul Jones said, "As a 
servant of the republic of America, I cannot serve 
either myself or my best friends, unless the honor 
of America is the first object." 

During these months of waiting, his only weapon 
was his pen. He wrote letters of appeal to all 
persons of influence, to Congress, and also to the 
kino^ of France. 



"HE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



41 




IX. — The Bon H(3mme Richard. 

One day, when Paul Jones was reading ' ' Poor 

Richard's Ahnanac, " written by Dr. Frankhn, he 

found a paragraph which set him to thinking. It 

was: '' If yoit would have yoitr business done, go; 

if not, SEND." 

He sent no more letters, but went at once to the 
French court and pleaded his case there in person. 
As a result, he was soon after made commander 
of a vessel which he named the Bon Homme Rich- 
ard, which means Poor Richard. He did this out 
of gratitude to Dr. Franklin. 



42 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



The Bon Homme Richard was an old trading 
vessel, poorly fitted out for war. But after his long 
months of waiting, Paul Jones was thankful even 
for this. 

He was also given command of four smaller ves- 
sels. One of these, the Alliance, had, for captain, 
a Frenchman named Pierre Landais, who was 

afterwards the cause of 
much trouble. Paul Jones 
was ordered to cruise with 
his small squadron along 
the west coast of Ireland 
and to capture all the Eng- 
lish merchant vessels he 
could find. 

The officer next in com- 
mand to Paul Jones was 
Lieutenant Richard Dale, 
who has since been remembered not only for his 
bravery during that famous cruise, but for his serv- 
ice to the country at a later period. 

On the 14th of August, 1779, the ships put to 
sea. When they reach ed the southern point of Ire- 




RICHARD DALE, 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. . ^ 



land, one of the four small vessels was left behind 
and deserted. 

Cruising northward, the squadron soon cap- 
tured two valuable prizes. Without asking the 
permission of Paul Jones, Captain Landais sent 
these captured vessels to Norway. 

On the way, they were taken by the Danes, who 
returned them to England. The value of these 
prizes, thus lost through Captain Landais, was 
about ^40,000, or nearly $200,000. 

The squadron sailed round the north of Scot- 
land, and down the eastern coast until it came to 
the Firth of Forth. Here was the town of Leith, 
and in its harbor lay some English war vessels. 

Paul Jones wished to capture these. The winds 
were favorable, and a landing could easily have 
been made but for Captain Landais. 

Paul Jones spent a whole night persuading 
this troublesome captain to help him. It was 
only with a promise of money that he at last 
succeeded. But in the morning the winds were 
contrary. 

That day the Richard captured an English 



.. THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



merchant ship. The captain promised Paul Jones 
that if he would allow his vessel to go free, he 
would pilot the squadron into the harbor. 

The people, seeing the fleet piloted by the 
Enghsh vessel, supposed the visit to be a friendly 
one. So they sent a boat out to the Richard, 
asking for powder and shot to defend the town 
from the visit of ''Paul Jones the pirate." 

Jones sent back a barrel of powder with the mes- 
sage that he had no suitable shot. It was not until 
the vessels were nearing the harbor that the object 
of the visit was suspected. The people, in their 
fright, ran to the house of the minister. He had 
helped them when in trouble at other times, and 
could surely do something now. 

The good man, with his flock following him, ran 
to the beach, where he made a strange prayer. 

He told the Lord that the people there were 
very poor, and that the wind was bringing to the 
shore that ''vile pirate," Paul Jones, who would 
burn their houses and take away even their clothes. 
"I canna think of it! I canna think of it! I 
have long been a faithful servant to ye, O Lord. 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. . r 



But gin ye dinna turn the wind aboot and blaw 
the scoundrel out of our gates, I'll nae stir a 
foot, but will just sit here till the tide comes in." 

Just then a violent gale sprang up, and by the 
time it had abated the squadron had been driven 
so far out to sea that the plan was given up. 

Long afterward, the good minister would often 
say, ''I prayed, but the Lord sent the wind." 



X. — The Great Fight with the Serapis. 

Paul Jones next cruised up and down the eastern 
coast of England, trying to capture some merchant 
ships that were bound for London. 

About noon, on September 23, 1779, he saw not 
far from the shore an English fleet, sailing from 
the north. It was convoyed by two new war ships, 
the Serapis and the Countess of Scar'borougJi. 

Paul Jones at once signaled to his ships to form 
in line of battle. Captain Landais disobeyed. 

The sight of the American squadron seemed to 
cause confusion in the English fleet. They let fly 



46 



THE STORY OF PA UL JONES. 



their top gallant sails and fired many signals. The 
Serapis and the Coitntcss drew up in line of battle 
and waited for the enemy, while the merchant ships 
ran into port. 

It was a clear, calm afternoon. The sea was 
like a polished mirror, with scarcely a ripple on its 
surface. 

The vessels approached each other so slowly 
that they scarcely seemed to move. The decks 
had all been cleared for action, and the captains 
were full of impatience.. 

Word had gone from town to town along the 
shore, that a great battle was soon to be fought. 
The people along the shore gathered on the high 
clififs, eagerly hoping to see the dreaded Paul 
Jones crushed forever. 

The sun had gone down behind the hills before 
the ships were within speaking distance of each 
other. The harvest moon came up, full and clear, 
and shed a soft light over the dreadful battle 
that followed. 

Captain Landais, when he disobeyed Paul 
Jones' order to join in line of battle, spread the 



THE S TOR Y OF PA UL JONES. . « 



sails of the Alliance, and went quickly toward 
the enemy as though to make an attack. But 
when very near to where the Serapis lay, he 
changed his course, and sailed away to a place 
where the battle could be seen without harm. 

About half-past seven in the evening, the 
Richard rounded to on the side of the Serapis 
within pistol-shot. 

Captain Pearson of the Serapis hailed, saying: 
"What ship is that?" The answer came: ''I 
can't hear what you say. " 

Captain Pearson repeated: ''What ship is that? 
Ansvvrr at once or I shall fire." 

Paul Jones' reply was a shot. This was fol- 
lowed by a broadside from each vessel. 

^iL Lhis first fire, two of the guns in the lower 
battery of the Richard burst. The explosion tore 
up the decks, and killed many men. 

The two vessels now began pouring broadsides 
into each other. The Richard was old and rot- 
ten, and these shots caused her to leak badly. 
Captain Pearson saw this, and hailed, saying, 
''Has your ship struck?" 



48 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



The bold reply came: " I have not yet begun to 

fight." 

Paul Jones saw, that, as the Serapis was so 
much the better ship of the two, his only hope lay 
in getting the vessels so close together that the 
men could board the Serapis from the Richard. 

All this time the vessels had been sailing in the 
same direction, crossing and re-crossing each 
other's course. 

Finally Paul Jones ran the Richard across the 
bow of the Serapis. The anchor of the Serapis 
caught in the stern of the Richard and became 
firmly fastened there. As the vessels were swung 
around by the tide, the sides came together. 1 'j .- 
spars and rigging were entangled and rema ^:.: 
so until the close of the engagement. 

With the muzzles of the guns almost touching, 
the firing began. The effect was terrible. 

Paul Jones, who had only two guns that could 
be used on the starboard side, grappled with the 
Serapis. With the help of a few men, he brought 
over a larboard gun, and these three were all that 
he used during the rest of the battle. 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. .^ 



Meanwhile the other ships of the American 
squadron did strange things. The Pallas, alone, 
did her duty. In a half hour she had captured the 
Countess of Sca^^borough. The Vengeance simply 
sailed for the nearest harbor. 

Worst of all was the conduct of Captain Lan- 
dais and his ship Alliance. For a while he looked 
quietly on as though he were umpire. At 9:30 
o'clock he came along the larboard side of the 
Richard so that she was between him and the 
enemy. Then he deliberately fired into her, 
killing many men. 

Many voices cried out that he was firing into the 
wrong ship. He seemed not to hear, for, until 
the battle was over, his firing continued. The 
Poor Richard had an enemy on each side. 

Paul Jones sent some men up the masts and 
into the rigging to throw hand-grenades, or bombs, 
among the enemy. One of these set fire to some 
cartridges on the deck of the Serapis, This 
caused a terrible explosion, disabling all the men 
at the guns in that part of the ship. Twenty of 
them were killed outright. 



J- Q THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



By this time so much water had leaked into the 
Richard that she was settHng. A sailor, seeing 
this, set up the cry: ''Quarter! quarter! Our 
ship is sinking!" 

Captain Pearson, hearing the cry, sent his men to 
board the Richard. Paul Jones, with a pike in his 
hand, headed a party of his men similarly armed, 
and drove the English back. 

Some of the Richard's men ran below and set 
the prisoners free. There were more than a 
hundred of them. 

One of these prisoners climbed through the port 
holes into the Serapis. He told Captain Pearson 
that if he would hold out a little longer, the 
Richard would either sink or strike. 

Poor Paul Jones was now in a hard place. His 
ship was sinking. More than a hundred prisoners 
were running about the decks, and they, with the 
crew, were shouting for quarter. His own ship, 
the Alliance, was hurling shots at him from the 
other side. Everywhere was confusion. 

But he, alone, was undismayed. He shouted 
to the prisoners to go below to the pumps or they 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



51 



would be quickly drowned. He ordered the crew 
to their places. He himself never left the three 
guns that could still be fired. 

At half-past ten o'clock, the Serapis surrendered. 

When Captain Pearson gave his sword to Paul 




THE "SERAPIS AND THE ''BON HOMME RICHARD. 

Jones, he said it was very hard to surrender to a 
man who had fought ' ' with a halter around his 
neck." Paul Jones replied, "Sir! You have 
fought like a hero. I hope your king will reward you. " 
This battle had lasted for three hours and a half. 



THE S TOR Y OF PAL X JONES. 



It has since been known in history as one of the 
greatest victories ever won upon the seas. The 
Serapis and the Countess were both new ships, 
one of forty guns and the other of twenty. The 
crews were well-drilled Englishmen. 

Everything was against the Richard, and the 
victory was due alone to the great courage and 
will of its commander. When the fight was over, 
Paul Jones separated the ships and set the sails of 
the Richard. All night every sailor was busy 
fighting the fire which raged on both ships. 

When daylight showed to Captain Pearson the 
wreck of the Richard, he was sorry he had sur- 
rendered. Her rudder was gone and her rotten 
timbers were split into pieces. Some of the shots 
had passed entirely through her. 

Paul Jones wished to take her into port to show 
how desperately he had fought, but this was out of 
the question. By nine o'clock the sailors aban- 
doned her, and at ten she suddenly went down. 

Repairing the Serapis as best he could, Paul 
Jones took her and the Countess of Scarborough^ 
with his unfaithful fleet, to Holland. 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. r ^ 



XI. — Honor to the Hero. 

After this great victory, Paul Jones was every- 
where received as a hero. The king of France 
presented him with a gold sword. 

He also sent word, through his minister, that, 
with the consent of Congress, he would make Paul 
Jones a Knight of the Order of Military Merit. To 
avoid delay, the gold cross of the order had been 
sent to the French minister in America, who would 
present it to Paul Jones when permission to accept 
it had been received from Congress. 

The hero traveled about in Holland and 
France, from city to city, enjoying his great 
triumph. Crowds of people were everywhere 
eager to see him, and a word with him was 
thought to be a great honor. 

The most serious fault in the character of Paul 
Jones was his vanity. He had always been very 
fond of praise and glory, and now his longings 
were partly satisfied by all this homage. 

Dr. Franklin wrote him a letter, praising him 
for his bravery. He thanked him, most of all, 
for the prisoners he had captured. There were 



C . THE STOJ? V OF PA UL JONES. 



SO many of them that, by exchange, every Ameri- 
can, held by the Enghsh, could be set at liberty. 

While Paul Jones was enjoying this praise. 
Captain Landais was going about also, claiming 
for himself the glory for the capture of the Serapis, 
and trying to make people believe that he was 
the real hero. 

When Dr. Franklin heard from the sailors 
how he had fired upon the Richard, he ordered 
him to Paris to be tried. 

During the next year, Paul Jones made a few 
short cruises, but accomplished nothing more than 
the taking of a few prizes. 

At this time the army of George Washington 
was sorely in need of clothing and military sup- 
phes. Word was sent to Dr. Franklin to buy 
them in France and send them to America by 
Paul Jones. 

Fifteen thousand muskets, with powder, and 
one hundred and twenty bales of cloth, were 
bought and stored in the Alliance and the A^'iel. 
Dr. Frankhn told Paul Jones to sail with these 
goods at once. This was early in the year 1780. 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. ^ r 



The summer came and passed away, and the 
ships were still anchored in the French harbor. 
Paul Jones gave excuse after excuse until the 
patience of Dr. Franklin was about gone. 

Captain Landais had been one cause of the delay. 
Instead of going to Paris for trial, as Franklin 
had ordered, he had gone back to the Alliance 
to stir up mutiny against Paul Jones. He caused 
one trouble after another and disobeyed every 
order. Finally, by intrigue, he took command 
of the Alliance and sailed to America. 

But Captain Landais never again troubled Paul 
Jones. His reception in America was not what 
he had expected. Instead of being regarded as 
a hero, he was judged insane, and dismissed from 
the navy. A small share of prize money was 
afterward paid to him. On this he lived until 
eighty-seven years of age, when he died in Brook- 
lyn, New York. 

Another reason Paul Jones gave for his delay 
in France was that he wished to get the prize 
money due for the capture of the Serapis, and 
pay the sailors. This gave him an excuse to 



56 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



linger about the courts where he could receive 
more of the homage he loved so well. 

Then, too, he spent much time in getting let- 
ters and certificates of his bravery from the king 
and the ministers. He wished to show these to 
Congress when he should arrive in America. 

Finally, one day in October, he set sail in the 
Ariel. He had not gone far when a furious gale 
forced him to return to port for safety. 

For three months longer he waited, hoping still 
for the prize money that was due. One day he 
gave a grand fete on his ship. Flags floated from 
every mast. Pink silk curtains hung from awn- 
ings to the decks. These were decorated with 
mirrors, pictures, and flowers. 

The company invited were men and women of 
high rank. When all was ready, Paul Jones sent 
his boats ashore to bring them on board. 

He, himself, dressed in full uniform, received 
them and conducted them to their seats on the 
deck. At three o'clock they sat down to an 
elaborate dinner which lasted until sunset. 

At eio^ht o'clock, as the moon rose, a mock 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. r y 



battle of the Richard and the Scrapis was given. 
There was much noise from the firing of guns, 
and a great blaze of light from the rockets that 
were sent up. The effect was beautiful, but the 
din was such that the ladies were frightened. At 
the end of an hour this display was ended. 

After a dance on the deck, the officers rowed 
the company back to the shore. 



XII. — The Return to America. 

On the 1 8th of December, 1780, nearly a year 
after he had received his orders, Jones sailed for 
America. He arrived in Philadelphia on Feb- 
ruary 1 8th, 1 78 1. When Congress inquired into 
the cause of his long delay, he gave explanations 
which seemed to be satisfactory. Resolutions of 
thanks were passed, and permission given to the 
French minister to present the Cross of Military 
Merit, which had been sent by the French king. 

This cross was presented with great ceremony, 
and it was ever after a source of much pride to 



58 



THE STOR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



Paul Jones. He wore it upon all occasions and 
loved to be called Chevalier. 

During the following year Paul Jones superin- 
tended the construction of a new war ship, the 
America, which was being built by Congress. 

This was the largest seventy-four gun ship in 
the world, and he was to be her captain. 

Once more Paul Jones was disappointed. Be- 
fore the America was finished, Congress decided 
to give her to France. She was to replace a 
French vessel, which had been lost while in the 
American service. 

Paul Jones was again without a ship. As he 
could not bear to be idle, he spent the time until 
the close of the war, with a French fleet, cruis- 
ing among the West Indies. 

As soon as he heard that peace was declared 
between England and America, he left the French 
fleet and returned to America. He arrived in 
Philadelphia in May, 1783. 

Now that the war was over, and there was no 
more fighting to be done, Paul Jones thought 
that the best thing for him to do was to get the 



THE STOR Y OF FA UL JONES. 



59 



prize money still due from the French govern- 
ment for the vessels he had captured. 

For this purpose, he soon returned to France. 
After many delays the money, amounting to nearly 
130,000, was paid to him. It was to be divided 
among the officers and crews of the ships which 
he had commanded. 

Paul Jones came again to America in 1787 to 
attend to the final division of this money. 




While in this country, Congress ordered a gold 
medal to be presented to him for his services dur- 



ing the war. 



XIII. — Ambitious Hopes. 
You remember that, during the war, Captain 
Landais had sent two valuable ships to Norway, 
and so caused the loss of much prize money. 



6o 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



Denmark had taken these ships, by force, and 
given them back to England. 

Paul Jones determined to go to Denmark to try 
to induce that country to pay for these ships. In 
November, 1787, he left America for the last 
time. 

On the way to Denmark, he stopped in Paris. 
Here he heard some news which pleased him very 
much. 

For some time Russia had been at war with 
Turkey, and the Russian navy had lately met 
with several disasters on the Black Sea. 

The Russian minister in Paris had heard a great 
deal about the hero, Paul Jones. So he sent 
word to the Empress Catherine, who was then 
the ruler of Russia, that if she would give Paul 
Jones the command of the Russian fleet, "all 
Constantinople would tremble in less than a year. " 

When Paul Jones heard that this message had 
gone to Russia, he was sure that a chance would 
come to win still more glory and fame. 

He was more anxious than before to go to 
Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. He would 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. ^ j 

then be nearer to Russia and could more quickly 
answer the summons of the empress. 

He was not disappointed in this. He was in 
Copenhagen but a few weeks, when he received 
the offer of a position in the Russian navy, with 
the rank of rear-admiral. 

He gave up the hope of the prize money, and 
started in April, 1788, for St. Petersburg. 

The story of his trip to Russia shows what a 
fearless man he was. No danger was too great 
for him to brave, in order to accomplish any pur- 
pose he had in mind. 

In order to reach St. Petersburg with the least 
delay, he went to Stockholm, Sweden. Here he 
took an open boat and crossed the Baltic Sea, 
which was full of floating ice. 

He did not let the boatmen know of his inten- 
tions until they were well out at sea. Then, 
pistol in hand, he compelled the unwilling men to 
steer for the Russian shore. 

For four days and nights they were out in the 
open boats, carefully steering through the ice, and 
many times barely escaping death. 



^ 2 ^-^^ STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 

When, at last, they arrived safely at a Russian 
port on the Gulf of Finland, he rewarded the 
boatmen and gave them a new boat and provisions 
for their return. Scarcely would any one believe 
the story, as such a trip had never been made 
before, and was thought to be impossible. 

He hurried on to St. Petersburg, where he was 
warmly welcomed. The story of his trip across 
the Baltic, added to other tales of his bravery, 
caused the empress to show him many favors. 



XIV. — Sad Disappointments. 

After a few days in St. Petersburg, Paul Jones 
hurried on to the Black Sea to take command of 
his fleet. But he again met with disappointments. 
He was not given the command of the whole fleet, 
as he had expected. Instead, he was given only 
half. Prince Nassau commanding the remainder. 
Both of these men were under a still higher 
authority, Prince Potemkin. 

Potemkin was as fond of glory as was Paul 



THE STGR Y OF PA UL JONES. 



63 



Jones. He and Nassau were both jealous of the 
foreigner, and Potemkin finally succeeded in 
having Paul Jones recalled to St. Petersburg. 

He arrived there, full of sorrow, because he had 
achieved no fame. More trouble was in store for 
him. Some jealous conspirators so blackened 
his character that the empress would not allow 
him to appear at court. 

Even after proving his innocence to the satisfac- 
tion of the empress, he could not regain his 
former position. 

About this time his health began to fail. Sick, 
both in body and mind, he went back to Paris in 
1790, having been in Russia about eighteen 
months. 

It was nearly a year afterward, before he gave 
up all hope of regaining a position in the Russian 
service. When the empress refused him this, he 
quietly waited for death. 

This occurred on the i8th of July, 1792, in his 
lodgings in Paris. His pride and love of titles had 
left him. He told his friends that he wished no 
longer to be called Admiral or Chevalier. 



64 



THE STOR V OF PA UL JONES. 



He wished to be simply a ''citizen of the 
United States." 

The National Assembly of France decreed him 
a public funeral, and many of the greatest men of 
the time followed his body to the tomb. The 
place of his burial has been forgotten. 

The most enduring monument to his memory is 
to be found in the grateful recollections of his 
countrymen. The name of Paul Jones, the first 
naval hero of America, will not be forgotten so 
long as the stars and stripes float over the sea. 



"Tour Great """^' 



James Baldwin, Ph. D. 



flmericans*' Series, 



For Young American Readers. 

In order that Baldwin's Biographical Stories may be had 
in book form, they are bound together, four Booklets to the 
volume. These volumes, beautifully bound in cloth, will be 
published and known as the "Four Great Americans" Series. 



VOLUMES NOW READY! 

L Four Great Americans 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 
DANIEL WEBSTER, ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

By James Baldwin, Ph. D. 
Cloth. 246 Pages. . . . Price, 50 Cents. 

IL Four American Patriots 

PATRICK HENRY, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, 
ANDREW JACKSON, ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
By Alma Holman Burton, 

Author of ** The Story of Our Country." 

Cloth. 256 Pages. . . . Price, 50 Cents. 



Other Volumes in Preparation. 
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78 Fifth Avenue. 378-388 Wabash Avenue. 73 Tremont Street. 



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"FOR BEGINNERS IN READING." 

THE WERNER PRIMER 

Exquisitely Illustrated in Colors, 
\\2 Pages. Price 30 Cents. 

'T^HE Werner Primer is a growth. It is based on the 
-■- Kindergarten idea as taught by Froebel. It in- 
cludes all the work for the first half year, taking up the 
subjects of reading, writing, language, number, science, 
drawing, literature, and occupations, by means of the 
most perfect inductive, correlative exercises. 

This famous book has accomplished two results: 

1. It has revolutionized methods of teaching" be- 
ginners in reading. 

2. It has revolutionized the making of text-books 
for beginners in reading. 

The * ' old style ' ' Primers, First Readers, Primary 
Readers, etc., have all been relegated to the past. THE 
WERNER PRIMER stands without a rival in original- 
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in everything needed in the schoolroom for beginners in 
reading. 

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THE 

First Year Nature Reader* 

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Vnr f^rnrlf^fi T nnri TT By Katherine Beebe 

ror uraaes i ana ii. and nelue f. kingsley 

J54 Pages. Price 35 Cents. 

'T^HIS is a remarkably interesting book for children. 
■*^ It is designed to be taken up after the Werner 
Primer, and has been prepared in the same thorough 
and beautiful manner. The subject matter follows the 
seasons as they change from fall to summer, calling 
attention to the flowers, fruits, birds, and activities of 
every-day interest. 

The study of Nature is always attractive to the child, 
and in the First Year Nature Reader are some of the 
most interesting phases of out-door life, put in a form 
easily understood and enjoyed by the youngest reader. 

A valuable feature of the book is a list of appropriate 
stories by well-known authors. These are to be read or 
told in connection with the reading lessons. At the end 
of the book are placed many suggestions regarding seat 
work, such as painting, drawing, modeling, sewing, etc. 
The book is beautifully illustrated in colors and forms an 
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Legends of the Red Children 

o? o? o? 

For Grades IV and V. Sara l. pratt 

128 Pages. Price 30 Cents. 

TN contrast with the old, classic tales and the lessons 
-^ from Nature are these poetic legends of Indian life. 
Children delight in beautiful stories like these, which 
carry them into a new and strange world. Not only do 
the myths form most interesting reading, but they 
directly cultivate the child's imagination by means of the 
delightful, poetic fancies. 

The literary style of the author is picturesque and 
charming, and is peculiarly adapted to interest the 
children. The following extract, from the preface, shows 
the pleasing character of the writings: 

"Many years ago, when this country of ours was one great forest, 
* * * there dwelt a race of happy little children. The Red Children, 
we call them * * * Some wise men, w^ho loved the Red Children and 
saw the sweetness of their simple stories, gathered them together and 
told them in a book, so that you and I might read these legends of the 
Red Children." 

The little book is attractively bound and illustrated. 
The chapters include, among others: 

The Legend of the Lightning. The Rainbow. 

The Star Beautiful. The Sun a Prisoner. 

Will-o'-the-Wisp. The Land of the Hereafter, etc. 



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The Story of Our Country. 

^ o? o? 

For Grades V and VI. ^l^^ ho man burton 

240 Pages. Price 60 Cents. 

npHIS is a unique and charming work, which not only 
-*- forms an admirable primary history, but also makes 
a remarkably interesting book for supplementary read- 
ing. It is the story of the people of the United States, 
and of their progress from the struggles and privations 
in the wilderness down to the national prosperity of to- 
day. 

So skillfully is our country's growth depicted that the 
whole is one continuous story, as charming as any ro- 
mance and of absorbing interest from beginning to end. 
The captivating and picturesque style in which it is writ- 
ten makes the work especially desirable as a supplemen- 
tary reading book. 

The illustrations are numerous, and are much more 
than mere pictures, for each one assists in telling the 
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The author's aim throughout is to awaken in the child 
an interest in our country's progress and to cherish feel- 
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SOHRAB AND RUSTUM 

AN EPISODE 

For Higher Grades, Matthew arnold 

J 23 Pages. Price 40 Cents. 

'T^HIS little volume presents one of the greatest epics 
-*- of modern times, and introduces the student to 
the rich fields of Persian literature. The subject of the 
poem goes back to the earliest traditions of Persia, which 
have been handed down for centuries in the folk-lore and 
the written chronicles. During the tenth century these 
traditional data were gathered together by the ' ' Homer 
of Persia ' ' into one great epic, and it is on the crowning 
episode of this great saga that Arnold has based his poem. 

Sohrab and Rustum, more than any other of his 
works, has placed Arnold among the poets of modern 
England. It is the masterpiece of his classic and heroic 
poems. A most interesting introduction, and valuable 
and abundant notes, have been prepared by Merwin 
Marie Snell. There is also a bibliography for the use of 
students. 

This poem has been selected as one of the English 
requirements for admission into the colleges of the 
United States. 



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[98— 10-98J 



afaj/ette^ 



The 



THE BOOK OF 
THE HOUR for 
THE YOUTH 
OF AMERICA.. 






Just 
Published. 



S^riend^^^merican jCiberti/ 

Zyh.c proposal to erect a monument in Paris to the 
early friend of American liberty, GENERAL 
LAFAYETTE, by contributions from the patriotic 
school children of the United States, has aroused 
national enthusiasm for the memory of this noble 



man. 



In view of the great interest which this 
fittingf and significant movement has awakened in 
the life, character and services of the heroic soldier 
and patriot, the Werner School Book Company has 
just issued, edited by Dr. James Baldwin, 

"LAFAYETTE, 

THE FRIEND OF AMERICAN LIBERTY," 



By Mrs. ALMA HOLMAN BURTON, 

The author of ** Four American Patriots," 
** The Story of Our Country,* 

A TIMELY CONTRIBUTION OF GREAT VALUE 
TO PATRIOTIC EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE. 



Etc. 



merner School Book 



...Company,,. 



CHICAGO: 378-388 Wabash Ave. 
NEW YORK: 78 Fifth Ave. 
BOSTON: 73 Tremont St 



Educational Publishers. 




pocft=n)akmg Qooks 



ti ti 



The term, '^ Epoch-Making/' is often used inaccurately.' J»// 
"When properly applied to school-books, it means such 
works as introduce new conceptions w^ith reference to a 
given branch of knowledge, or illustrate new and improved methods 
in the treatment cf that branch. Such works, by showing a better way 
than that which was formerly pursued, bring about a revolution in 
the making of school=books, as well as reform in the meth= 
ods of teaching. 



J8®"Here are some 



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DeGanno's Language Lessons, Book I S 30 

DeGarmo's Language Lessons, Book II 40 

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The Werner Introductory Geography (Tarbell) 55 

The Werner Grammar School Geography (Tarbell) 1 40 

The Werner Arithmetic, Book I. (Hall ) 40 

The Werner Arithmetic, Book 11. (Hall) 50 

Giffln's Grammar School Algebra 50 

Burton's Story of Our Country 60 

The Story of George Washington (Baldwin) 10 

The Story of Benjamin Franklin (Baldwin) lO 

The Story of Daniel Webster (Baldwin) lO 

The Story of Abraham Lincoln (Baldwin) lO 

Baldwin's Four Great Americans ( W. F. W. & L. ) 50 

Baldwin's Primary Lessons in Physiology 35 

Baldwin's Essential Lessons in Physiology 50 

Hinsdale's Studies in Education 1 OO 

Hinsdale's American Government 1 25 

Hinsdale's Training for Citizenship lO 

Hinsdale's History and Civil Government of Ohio 1 OO 

The Werner Primer (Taylor) 30 

Old Time Stories Retold (Smythe) 30 

First Year Nature Reader (Beebe & Kingsley) 35 

Legends of the Red Children (Pratt) 30 

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